


Inches Apart and Even Closer at Heart

by DrunkAtComicCon



Category: Castle (TV 2009)
Genre: Advent Calendar, Domestic, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Light-Hearted, No one gets hurt, Slight Canon Divergence, also Alexis is bi and I won't take any criticism on that, some hints of sex and sexual intimacy, this is all fun and games
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:47:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 14,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27802522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrunkAtComicCon/pseuds/DrunkAtComicCon
Summary: A Caskett Advent Calendar: This is a collection of short stories accompanying Castle, Beckett and family through the year 2020 and some of the lighter and funnier challenges it has brought with it. These stories feature a lot of shenanigans, love and joy in what are and were some very hard times.
Relationships: Alexis Castle/Hayley Shipton, Kate Beckett/Richard Castle
Kudos: 8





	1. Preface

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys!
> 
> Thanks for dropping by. First things first, this Advent Calendar will feature 31 stories instead of the usual 24/25 because my friend Alex and I just couldn't stop ourselves when the ideas for this project started flowing. Also, I felt a little more joy and happiness might not be the worst at the end of this god-awful garbage fire of a year.
> 
> So, here's the preface. There's some canon-divergence, because... I can. That's it, that's the entire reason. 
> 
> Anyways, enjoy this little pet project of mine!
> 
> \- Max

In the light of this year’s events, canon has girded its loins and walked off. So, I present:

31 short stories, that are light and joyful, full of love and shenanigans. Covid is just a means to an end, in that it gives these characters the time to be stuck together for a long time and grow from it a little more. I chose to disregard the fear and the stress this pandemic has caused in all of us. We need a break. We deserve a break. This is this break for me and, maybe to some extent, hopefully, for you too.

Some further twists and tweaks that I took the liberty of doing are as follows:

Katherine Beckett, despite having some more influence as captain of the 12th precinct has decided that being a cop and partaking in a flawed system wasn’t so much her style anymore. Instead, she is studying law at Columbia now, working towards making a real impact to change the system of law enforcement.

With their captain gone, Ryan and Esposito were not holding up much longer, either. Ryan using his new freedom to pursue his dream of acting – taking lessons with Martha – and being a stay at home dad for his kids the rest of the time. Jenny herself has gone back to work and bringing home the bacon. She loves coming home after a long day of work to her husband’s fine cooking and will take time to see every play he’s starring in. 

Esposito decided it was time to give back to the community in which he grew up. He opened a community centre in Spanish Harlem, fighting hard to give the kids of the neighbourhood a fair chance at education and career prospects. His main goals are to foster creativity and brotherly love. Lanie helps him financially, having given up her position as ME and pursuing a career in research. They have been engaged for a year now but swear that they will get married once the pandemic is over.

Oh, and Hayley Shipton, the constant traveller? She did not only find a reason to stay in the Castle family in generally, but in Alexis in particular. Richard wasn’t even all too mad when they moved in together, knowing Hayley would take good care of his daughter. Additionally, Hayley was always a delight at family functions – until someone breaks out the scotch. 

Now that you’re all caught up, you’re ready to jump into this little advent calendar. Chapters will be uploaded every day, although not at a specific time because of variation in daily schedule and whatever else life tends to throw at one.

Enjoy!


	2. Day 1: Obsessions and Beginner's Luck

“Don’t take another step! I swear, I’ll shoot you!”

Beckett’s head didn’t jerk up, her eyes didn’t even twitch. Her gazes stayed steadily on the law book and her notes in front of her as Castle continued to shout profanities towards the tv. She barely even heard him, honestly. By now she was used to his excessive gaming habits to an alarming extent. The constant noises of gunfire and zombie-moans had turned into her own personal white noise.

She absent-mindedly took a sip from a coffee long gone cold, scrawling a few words worth of notes in the margins of her textbook. It was day thirteen of lockdown and she missed the quiet of the law library. In the before-times, she would hole up in there for hours on end, coming home exhausted but satisfied with the day’s work. She liked the division of spaces and being locked in the same place for who knows how long just didn’t quite sit right with her.

Castle, on the other hand, had embraced the opportunity to be completely holed-up in the loft for the foreseeable future with no prospect guests to entertain and had made a point of circulating his wardrobe between pjs and loungewear. He basically lived in his grey robe now. Castle had also seen this sudden addition of time at home as a perfect opportunity to hone his gaming skills and Beckett had lost count of how many hours her husband spent in front of the television these days. His requests for her to join him had, obviously, fallen on very deaf ears.

*

“Please, Beckett. Come join me! Allow yourself to have some fun for once, please?” Castle’s whinging in her ear was way more distracting than the constant blaring of his games. His soft touches and persuasion-kisses were most certainly _very_ distracting.

She sighed and groaned and shooed him away, but not unlike the way their partnership had begun, he wouldn’t stay away for very long.

With the weeks in the loft progressing and an uneventful spring break creeping closer, Beckett’s resistance began to wane. And some of what her husband was playing did seem quite intriguing, she had to admit. Certainly, the promise was only a small adrenaline rush compared to what she had been used to when she was still working as a cop, but she would be lying if she said that she wasn’t longing for some excitement amidst her studies.

She huffed, shook her head and with that the idea to give in was cast aside. She was busy after all.

*

On the third day of spring break, Castle had embarked on the adventure that grocery shopping had become. He had even volunteered this morning and Beckett got the sense that even he was becoming somewhat antsy from staying in all the time. A home-cooked meal certainly sounded delightful.

Castle’s controller was lying abandoned on the couch, the game paused mid-fight. Castle had left the loft as if in a hurry, suddenly possessed by a restlessness. There was the controller. The game ready to jump right into. And Beckett’s eyes had started to water from reading half an hour ago.

What harm could it do to just give into temptation for a little while?

After all, she had maintained a rigid structure for so long, surely, she could break that just this once. No one would ever know.

She tiptoed over to the paused Spiderman game. Over the past few days, she had watched him struggle adapting to the game’s mechanics, trying and somewhat failing to remember the various button-combinations and moves, constantly muttering to himself under his breath.

“What the hell?” Beckett thought and pressed start.

*

The thud of a grocery bag hitting the hardwood floor brought Beckett back to reality. She had been so immersed in the game that she hadn't heard Castle return. She also hadn't notice that she was perched on the backrest of the couch, nor how much in-game progress she had made in the little time her husband had been out. The slightly disgruntled look on his face, however, told her that it must have been a rather significant one.

“I'll ... Um... Leave you two alone,” Castle muttered before turning to the kitchen while Beckett couldn't quite stop herself from laughing.

The next stack of games to arrive at their doorstep, though, all had a team-player option. Beckett didn't mind the distraction too much anymore, either.


	3. Day 2: The Crème Brûlée

Beckett was by no means a bad cook. Sure, she was a little rusty, having both very convenient take out places nearby and a culinarily-gifted husband. But she could pull her weight in the kitchen. Or so she thought. Of course, most of what she was used to prepare food-wise were easy dinners; the odd vegetable stir fry, maybe a casserole. Practical things that could function as a leftover-lunch the next day. Neither baking nor dessert-making in general was usually in her repertoire. Still, the last couple of weeks of scrolling through her friends Instagram pages during her study breaks had served as a fountain of inspiration of homely imaginations.

All those homemade breads, cakes, tarts, rolls - and whatever else people out there fill the abundancy of time lockdown had given them with - stirred an urge in Beckett. An inkling that she might surprise Castle with something sweet and homemade to reward him for breaking out of his stupor and writer’s block of the previous few weeks.

And maybe - just maybe - a tiny voice in her head told her that it couldn't be _that_ hard. It certainly _looked_ easy.

So, she donned the nicest outfit she had put together in a while, kissed her working husband goodbye, put on a mask and ventured out to buy ingredients under the guise of doing this week’s shopping. Castle barely notice that she'd gone out, too immersed in his next Nikki Heat novel to grasp that the world around him was still moving. Everything was aligning for an easy surprise, really, Beckett thought.

Maybe the universe had heard her and set out to thwart her plans just for the fun of it.

In Beckett's defence, she did buy double the amount of ingredients than she needed. She might have been possessed by an irrational sense of capability, but she wasn't to be cocky about it. Cockiness, and that was something she had learned from the years she had spent with Rick, almost always turned out to be fatally humbling in the end.

So, she exerted caution, at least a basic level of it. Why she thought that anything involving an open flame, however, still puzzled her. Maybe she hadn't been quite as grounded and rational about the whole endeavour as she liked to tell herself.

Castle didn't notice her return. His office door was closed, and Beckett had no intention of alerting him to her presence. She quietly set up shop in the kitchen, propping the magazine with the crème brûlée recipe up against a jug on the counter. The promising picture of the delicious dish seemed to smile at her encouragingly.

What a false sense of promise and security, as Beckett later had to find out.

The first batch of crème had to be thrown away after barely more than a quarter of an hour. As it turned out, eggs weren't quite so easy to temper if you had no prior experience. In fact, they were quite ready to congeal into scrambled eggs at the first whiff of a rise in temperature.

The second batch, however, really looked promising. The crème turned out well, the water bath in the oven worked a treat and applying an even sugar-coating to the top was, with Beckett's steady hands, a walk in the park.

In retrospect, though, she probably shouldn't have put the tray of crème so close to the magazine. Maybe she shouldn't have lingered her gaze on the reference picture in the magazine while handling such a strong open flame either.

On the bright side, the blaring of the fire alarm did inform Castle that she was home. And the flames had eaten up any further aspirations of experimentation in the kitchen.

At least those involving _cooking_ , that is.


	4. Day 3: I think I've got it

“Are you okay, Rick? You look a little tired.”

Beckett watched her husband over the rim of her coffee mug. Despite only just having gotten up, deep circles under his barely open eyes indicated that he hadn't gotten much rest. Beckett herself had woken up a couple of times during the night because Castle had been thrashing about. 

“I'm fine,” he grumbled. “Just a little under the weather, I guess.”

He seated himself next to her, his arms automatically reaching around her as his head came to rest on her shoulder. When he skipped not only breakfast but also left his cup of coffee untouched, Beckett started to get a little worried. 

*

“I think I'm getting sick,” Castle mumbled, three hours later, still splayed out on the sofa where Beckett had left him to go study for her midterms. At that, Beckett got up from the dinner table that she had transformed into her personal law library and came over to him. A soft hand on his forehead and a furrowed brow from her, a pause, then: “You don't feel feverish, at least. What’s going on?”

He shook his head. “I don't know. I just feel a little squeamish, that's all.”

Pointing out his skipping breakfast, Kate suggested to have a little snack, promptly fixing up a plate of salted crackers and some apple slices for him. She threw in a cup of herbal tea, for good measure. It took less than twenty minutes for Castle to empty his newly acquired stomach contents into the toilet bowl. 

“Beckett, I'm dying. I'm absolutely positive that I'm dying. That's it. Finito. This is the one that will snuff my life out.” 

Castles whining was just as audible with him tucked in bed - under two additional covers and with the door closed - as when he was still sulking in his misery on the living room couch. Beckett's head met the table with a loud thud in the middle of a very annoyed eyeroll. 

Castle had been asleep for an hour and then had picked up his undignified whining promptly after waking up. She was pretty sure that he was merely suffering a light case of food poisoning and Lanie had, after a brief phone call, assured her that her husband will live. 

“If I don't smother him with a pillow, that is”, Beckett thought and tried to drone out Castle's increasingly loud complaints.

*

“I don't think it's a good idea for you to sleep in the same bed with me,” Castle looked up at Beckett from under his nest of blankets and pillows, bleary eyed and almost adorable again. 

“How come?” Beckett asked, fully convinced that Dr Parish’s diagnosis of food poisoning was accurate. She had spent some time looking up the restaurants that they had ordered from the night before and had found out that they did not have a spot free record with the Department of Health. A shame, really. Beckett had liked their food a lot.

“I could have Covid!” Castle exclaimed, his face a perfect exhibition of self-pity.

It took Beckett all her composure not to laugh right in his face. Sure, when she had noticed him looking worse for wear that morning, she had worried for a moment. But all his symptoms pointed in a wholly different direction and Beckett was still one to be guided by evidence. 

“You don't have Covid, Rick.”  
“How would you know?”  
“You exhibit none of the symptoms. You haven't been anywhere for days. We haven't met anyone in weeks. To name a few strong indicators.”  
“But what if...”

“Castle?”  
“Huh?”  
“Shut up and scoot over, I would like to cuddle my sick husband to sleep.”


	5. Day: The Bookshelf

Her initial motivation for this, like for most things these days, had been sheer and utter bottomless boredom. This boredom had soon made way to mild curiosity. A week later, the curiosity was replaced by concern and then, later, was supplemented by the sheer hilarity Beckett began to feel.

Nowadays, it was the highlight of her day. The anticipation of the act alone let her experience a mischievous joy she hadn't much felt since her childhood.

It had all started with a video call with Alexis. The two of them hadn't spoken for a while, Castle was too busy with his excessive gaming to be much fun to talk to and Beckett missed the lively conversations the two women always had. During that call, she mentioned something along the lines of Rick being unobservant and her craving excitement to Alexis who suddenly sported a very mischievous grin.

“You know, Dad and I used to play a lot of pranks on each other when I was a kid. The longer it ran and the more elaborate it was, the better,” Alexis had remarked, her grin widening.

“I'm listening...”

So really, it was Alexis who had planted the initial seed. Beckett just executed the plan.

*

And so, it began. Very innocently, at first. It was more of a social experiment than a prank, really.

One day - Castle was reading the morning papers at the kitchen island, his back to the door - Beckett lingered in his office a little longer. She spent a couple of minutes browsing the various meticulously organised titles on his bookshelves, listening for any movement from the kitchen. Then she picked Margaret Atwood's _The Handmaid's Tale_ from the shelf and swapped it with Jo Nesbo's _The Snowman_.

Satisfied, she joined her unsuspecting husband for breakfast.

*

Over the course of the next couple of days, Baum switched places with Orwell, Child replaced Poe and vice versa, Douglas and Quick swapped places, so did Eliot and Rand, Flagg and Shakespeare, Gaiman and Tolkien.

Day by day, Beckett exchanged the position of two books, whenever her husband was too preoccupied to take note of her doings. And every day Beckett was sure that this was the day he would find her out. But, alas, he did not.

This went on and on for weeks on end. Beckett made it through the alphabet and then some and Castle just... Failed to notice the change. Occasionally, Beckett wondered if she should just address it.

But Katherine Beckett had never been one to concede easily. So, she kept to her daily ritual and as the colour scheme of the shelves around her slowly changed, the giddiness about the task returned. She even kept track of the days passing with tally marks in her notebook. Castle, meanwhile, kept to his routine of getting up, stumbling to the kitchen, waking up to coffee and the papers and then proceeding to waste away in front of his console.

Then, one day, Castle was up before her, greeting her in the kitchen with a broad smile and pancakes before kissing her forehead and beaming that the muses had finally come around to care about him again. He even had a spring in his step when he made his merry way towards his office and Beckett had a hard time containing the giggles that threatened to bubble up through her perfect poker face.

She watched him open the door with vigour. Watched as he bowed to her with a grand gesture and then closed his office door behind him.

She waited patiently. One second, two, three. And then:

“ BECKETT?!”


	6. Day 5: The Window

The glass felt nice and cold against her forehead as she stood there, pressed against one of the windows of the loft, the glass fogging up with her every breath. 

“Where is he?” Castle whined, occupying the space at the window next to her. He was just close enough to irritate her but far enough away for her to smack him.   
“On his way, most likely,” Beckett snapped and almost surprised herself with the edge that her voice had involuntarily gotten. Then again, she really didn't care.   
“What’s taking him so long?” Castle let his head fall against the window with a thud. He waited a second and repeated the motion. 

Thud. Pause. Thud. Pause. Thud- 

“Will you stop that?!” Beckett snarled at him without peeling her eyes from the street below.   
“Sorry,” he whispered, briefly looking at her before turning back to surveying the street below. 

For a moment, the apartment was wrapped in a tense silence. Beckett checked her watch, groaned, and fell silent again. It only had been ten minutes. Ten minutes that felt like an eternity. 

“What are we gonna do if he has an accident and doesn't show up at all?” Castle threw the question in the room and regretted it immediately. He could feel Beckett giving him one of her signature death-glares. 

“Why would you even put something like that out there,” Beckett asked. “if he has an accident now, I'm blaming you for jinxing it.”   
“Since when do you believe in jinxing things?”   
“I guess, you're a bad influence on me.” 

That made Castle fall silent for a moment. then: 

“I'm an excellent influence on you, Beckett!”   
She scoffed. “How so?” 

“I taught you how to have fun, for one.”   
“Oh please, I had fun before you came along, too.” 

“Aw, Beckett, come on! We've been over this already. You were a bit of a stuck-up before I started to follow you around.”   
“When have we been over this?”   
“When...” Castle hesitated for a moment, swallowed hard and then muttered, “when you were standing on that bomb and I was trying to distract you.” 

For a moment, Beckett tensed up at the memory, forgetting that she had just been irritated by Castle for the better part of twenty minutes. Without averting her gaze from the street below, she took a step towards Castle and reached over to him. He took her hand, squeezing it lightly, running his thumb over the back of it. 

“But I wasn't a ‘stuck-up’,” Beckett broke the silence, the annoyance in her voice had lost its edge a little.   
“I concur and so did everyone else at the precinct. Back then you were all work and definitely no play.”   
Beckett scoffed at him again, but she did not let go of his hand either. 

Down below in the street, a biker has stopped in front of the building and dismounted. A big, black box was strapped to the bicycle rack. Both Beckett and Castle tensed up, let go of each other, scooted closer to the glass. 

“Can it be?” Castle asked. 

Then the doorbell Rang. 

“Food's here. Finally!” Beckett exclaimed, already halfway at the door.


	7. Day 6: We should have gone to the Hamptons

It was one of the lazier days of quarantine. Castle was taking a break from working on his novel and Beckett was positive that her head would explode if she didn't take a break from her coursework. Outside, the sky was a crystalline blue and the sun shone in through the tall windows, filling the room, perfectly hitting the couch where Becket laid splayed out in Castle’s arms, using his torso as a back rest. She had her eyes closed, basking in the heat of the late spring sun, letting her thoughts wander to no particular destination, gently swaying with the ups and downs of Castle’s breathing. 

She wasn't quite aware of Castle’s hands roaming until he slipped them beneath the hem of her shirt, slowly caressing the naked skin of her abdomen. 

Beckett started to slightly rise under his touch, pressing into it, silently demanding more. He seemed to get the hint and started peppering her neck with kisses as his legs wrapped around her body from behind, pulling her into a tight embrace. 

Kate let her head fall back to capture Rick’s lips for a long, deep kiss. Her hands found the back of his neck. Blunt nails scratching his scalp, slowly driving him crazy. It took every ounce of his willpower to pull away from her soft lips. For a moment, he just looked at her. Her hair was dishevelled and the sun catching in it made it look like a golden halo was framing her face. 

Hungry eyes looked back at him challengingly, the devious smile on her lips was a sweet promise of what she was going to do with him.

He reached out for her, gently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering to draw small circles along her jawline.

“I was just thinking,” he whispered.  
“Mhm?” Kate’s eyebrow lifted inquiringly, the smug smile still on her lips.   
“I think, I found something for us to do today,” he grinned cockily, his thumb tracing her jugular, making her press into him even more.  
“Pray tell,” she said, her voice husky and low.  
“How about we find out on how many surfaces we can have sex-“ 

He couldn’t quite finish his sentence as Kate had turned her body fully towards him, darting forward to kiss him hard. Before he could fully react, she was straddling him, her hips gently rocking against his. 

Her hands were buried in his hair, pulling him closer as she deepened the kiss. His hands found her hips, gently guiding her as the arousal started to build up in him.

“I take that as a yes?” he chuckled in between kisses. Her answer was a forceful jerk on his shirt.

“Off!”

Rick grinned but complied. With one hasty move he rid himself of his shirt, chucking it across the room in disregard.   
“Fair is fair,” he said, pulling at the hem of her t-shirt. Kate lifted her arms a little, letting him pull the garment over her head and unite it with his abandoned one.

At the skin newly lain bare, he stopped for a moment, just taking her body in. Even though he had seen his wife naked a great many times, he still marvelled at her beauty every time.

“You are so beautiful, Kate,” he whispered before leaning in to kiss the scar between her breasts, his hands moving up and down her muscular back. His lips moved to her nipple, kissing it gently at first before sucking it in between his teeth, tracing circles around it with his tongue. He felt her tense a little under his touch, the movement of her hips against him picking up speed. 

A gasp left her lips. 

It was pure luck that they heard the key being inserted into the lock of the front door. 

They sprang apart, Beckett diving for the discarded clothing on the floor. She managed to toss Rick his shirt and pull hers on just in time. The door opened and Martha came sweeping into the apartment.

Beckett dropped into the next best armchair, trying to look as innocent as possible, smoothing out her hair frantically. Castle, on the other hand, tried to look as if his mother had just roused him from an early afternoon nap.

“Hello, kiddos,” Martha said, voice booming, as she came strutting into the living room.  
“Mother, what are you doing here?” Castle asked, peeking over the couch’s backrest, noticing a suitcase and a big travel bag stuffed to the brim.  
“Good to see you, too, Richard,” she answered, a drop of discontent in her voice at the lack of manners in her son. 

“Martha, is everything alright?” Becket stood up from her seat, taking a couple of steps towards her mother-in-law.  
“As a matter of fact, dear,” Martha said dramatically, “no! I am going crazy all alone in that big apartment of mine. That is why I have decided to – temporarily, of course – move back in with you two.”

Martha beamed at them. Her proclamation was enough to force Castle out of his reclined position and join Beckett.

“Mother, that is –,” he started.  
“A little short-noticed? I know, I know,” Martha waved her hand at him. “But I just couldn’t spend another minute alone without losing my mind.”  
“I think, it’s much too late for that,” Castle murmured towards Beckett, who chuckled slightly despite her heart still racing from yet another very close call.  
“I heard that, Richard,” Martha said, already turning around to carry her luggage up to her former bedroom. Castle and Beckett had left that one exactly as it always had been, since it was not an uncommon occurrence for Martha Rogers to drop by unannounced. 

“We should have gone to the Hamptons,” Castle whispered, not quite looking at Beckett.  
“You _think_?” Beckett huffed back at him, crossing her arms in disgruntlement. 

There went their plans for the day.


	8. Day 7: The Bare Necessities

“Ugh, I have _nothing_ to wear.” Beckett groaned and let herself fall face first onto the bed next to Castle. Her husband, meanwhile, staring at the ceiling, let out a deep sigh in response.

“Yeah, me neither,” he said, fingers folded on his stomach. Beckett propped herself up on one arm, studying his face for a moment. 

“What about that nice linen shirt you got in Bali?”  
“I wore that two weeks ago.” Beckett squinted and thought for a second.  
“Damnit, you’re right! Then what about that nice jacket –“ She felt him shake his head no.  
“Last week.” Castle rolled over to face Beckett, their faces inches apart.  
“The corduroy –“ He grimaced.  
“Three weeks ago.” She bit her lip.  
“Shit.”  
“Yeah. Hey what about that dress with the embroidery that looks so good on you?”  
“I wore that one to match your linen shirt because they have the same type of flowers on them.”  
“Oh, I remember.” Castle sighed. “We really don’t have anything to wear, do we?”

They let themselves fall back into the positions they had started off in. Castle went back to counting ceiling tiles and Beckett groaned into a pillow.

*

“Do you need anything, Mother?”

Martha glanced up at her son and her daughter-in-law from her reclined position sunbathing on the back patio.

“Where are you two going?” she asked, vaguely pointing at their fancy choice of clothing.  
“Costco’s,” Beckett answered. 

She was vibrating with energy and the anticipation to see other people. Even if it was just from afar. These little ventures to the grocery store were probably the highlight of her week at this point.

“Are we out of groceries already?” Martha asked.  
Richard shrugged. “We don’t have that much when it comes to veggies and fresh fruit anymore. Also, we’re out of Kraft Dinner and Beckett has finished the last of the whiskey yesterday.”

“Well, then… what are you two still doing here?” With that Martha shooed them away, tutting. She readjusted her sunglasses and laid back in her deckchair again.

*

“You got everything?” Beckett wanted to know. Castle nodded.  
“Keys?” He showed them to her.  
“Shopping list?”  
“KD and booze is not a shopping list, Beckett.”  
“True, but what about Martha’s things?”  
“Mother has texted me her list.” He rolled his eyes in good humour and showed her a meticulous and rather extensive list.   
“Alright, great. You got your mask?” A thumbs-up from Castle. “Let’s go!”

The two of them rushed out of the front door like children after the rain.

*

Thirty minutes later, Castle pulled into the parking lot of the Costco in Riverhead. Half of their neighbourhood in the Hamptons had taken to shopping there for essentials such as snack and junk foods, tobacco, and spirits. 

In the parking lot alone, the two of them saw three of their neighbours and after a brief chat with Pam from three doors down, Castle got a shopping cart, let Beckett climb onto it and proceeded to push the cart and his wife through the sliding doors and into the big hall.

Mr. and Mrs. Glendale from across the street were sporting matching tracksuits and excitedly waved at Beckett and Castle through a gap in the shelves. 

Kimberly and her boyfriend – Castle refused to remember his name as he didn’t like him – had apparently fallen into the baking craze, too, and poor Kimberly was pushing a cart around that was probably twice as heavy as herself. She still found it in herself to chat for a second. 

Even Evelyn Downing had made an appearance and Beckett was careful to guide them in the opposite direction whenever she caught a glimpse of that obnoxious woman.

*

Half an hour later, their pockets were very much lighter, and the backseat and truck of their car stuffed to the brim with bottles of different liquor and packets of macaroni and cheese. 

As Castle pulled out of the parking lot, they waved some neighbours goodbye, feeling a little lightheaded and both of them were already very much excited for their next chance to venture out to the store.

It’s the little things in life.


	9. Day 8: Strip Poker 2: Electric Boogaloo

The fire in the bedroom’s fireplace was burning low, throwing long shadows on the walls and painting the room in deep golds in a constant dance with the darkness. Beckett was stretched out on the fuzzy carpet in front of the fire, relishing in her post-dinner bliss. She hadn't even bothered taking her suit jacket off. 

“Is there room for two on that carpet?” Castle had suddenly come up behind her. She looked up at him, pulling her legs in a little and patting the space next to her.   
“For you? Always. Come here.” 

He looked incredibly handsome that night and Beckett had to thank Martha for it. Her mother-in-law had insisted on holding a proper dinner - including upholding an appropriate dress code - to combat some of the side effects of being stuck inside all the time. That night, Rick had gone for his best slacks, a very nice shirt and even dinner jacket and tie. Beckett had mirrored his choice of dress in her own manner and they both were looking positively dapper. 

Castle lowered himself onto the carpet, matching Beckett's position, enveloping her in his arms. She leaned back into him with a content sigh. She closed her eyes, letting her thoughts become fuzzy around the edges with the warmth of her husband pressed so close to her. 

For a while, they just stayed like that, basking in the warmth of the fire and each other, listening to the logs crackle as the fire slowly devoured them. 

“Kate?” Castle's voice was barely above a whisper. His hands absentmindedly traced patterns along her arms.   
“Mmh?” She lifted her head from his chest to look him in the eyes.   
“Care for a little game?” The sudden mischief in his expression piqued Beckett’s interest.  
“Depends. What kind of game do you have in mind, Rick?” He raised an eyebrow, smirking.   
“How about a nice round of strip poker. Since we have a lot to raise the stakes with tonight. Too much if you ask me.” With that, he demonstratively tugged on Beckett's tie. Beckett grinned, slipping out of his arms so she could turn to face him. She crossed her legs and looked at him expectantly. 

“Come on then, you deal,” she said, already contemplating what to offer up first.

“Alright, rules first: jewellery does not count as clothes, neither do watches. Socks, on the other hand, count individually.”   
“Rules as usual then? Quit stalling, Rick.” Beckett laughed. 

Castle shuffled the cards and dealt the first hand. They both glanced at the cards, neither of them showing any reaction whatsoever. For an instant, they squinted at each other over the rim of the cart, trying to suss each other out. 

“Alright, I bet you one sock,” Beckett said, eyes flashing down to her cards.   
“I'll raise you a tie,” Castle said, not taking his eyes off her face.   
“Call. Deal.” council puts another cart down between them.   
“Check,” Beckett said without hesitation.  
“Are you already chickening out?” Castle teased. “I bet you another sock.”   
“Fine, I call then.” Beckett kept studying the row of cards before her. Castle dealt the final card.   
“Check,” she said, unconsciously worrying her lower lip. Castle was having trouble concealing a victorious grin. Sure, his hand wasn't the best but by the looks of it hers was worse. He couldn't wait to see her beautiful long legs uncovered as he said, “Alright, I raised you a pair of pants.”

“Call,” Beckett said, suddenly with a sparkle in her eyes. “Show me what you got, writer boy.” 

For a moment he hesitated to put his carts down but did it anyway.   
“Two pair. A pair of jacks and a pair of nines.” The grin on Beckett’s face worried him.   
“Sorry, babe, it's time to take off your pants. I've got a Flush.” 

Kate openly stared at her husband as he tossed his socks aside, undid his tie and then finally unbuttoned his pants and rather ungracefully shimmied out of them. 

Beckett dealt the next hand, her cards looking promising from the get-go. She bet her shirt and ended up raising for socks in the same round. Castle bet his jacket and Beckett followed suit. But the odds, this time, were less in her favour and Castle got to keep his clothes on. In the dancing firelight and under the watchful eyes of her husband, Kate got rather flustered as she shrugged off her jacket, gently placing it on the ground next to her. Then, she slowly began to unbutton her blouse, letting it slip off her shoulders and fall to the ground. The tie she was still wearing came to rest between her breasts and for a moment it seemed as if Rick couldn't take his eyes off her. 

They made it through another round where Castle lost his shirt and that was the end of it - they were pulled to each other like magnets. The remaining clothes hastily joined the rest of their discarded garments as they hurried over to the bed. 

Strip poker was, as per usual, a win-win for them both.


	10. Day 9: The Importance of Routines

Kate Beckett had always been someone to believe in the benefits of routines and structure. She got up around the same time every morning, had coffee and breakfast rituals, showered and got dressed right after, like clockwork – most often before Castle even made it out of bed. 

Life as a student was great for her as it made structuring her days so much easier. It had been months since she’d been interrupted in anything by an urgent surprise call. 

When lockdown hit, Beckett still stuck to her daily routines. She needed the normality of getting ready in the morning, carefully assembling an outfit, distinguishing her time to relax from the time to attend zoom classes and study by more than just the physical shift from the couch to the dinner table. 

Castle, on the other hand, had taken to the most comfortable sweatpants-look immediately. Already when they were still residing in the loft, Rick would, from time to time, tease her for still wearing skin-tight jeans and fashionable button-ups despite there really being no need for that anymore. She, like with most of his more infantile antics, ignored him and carried on in her own way. 

Now that they were in the Hamptons, though, Castle had doubled down on the teasing.

“I just don’t get it,” he said, looking at her sitting at a table outside under a big sunshade, typing away on her laptop.  
“You could fill volumes with the things you don’t understand,” Beckett absentmindedly murmured. “Oh wait, you’ve already made a fortune with that.”  
Castle dramatically clutched his chest. “Ouch, Beckett! That hurt!”  
She chuckled lightly, still focused on her laptop.  
“No, but seriously, Kate. Why don’t you get comfortable for real? Why do you still wear jeans? It’s basically summer. It’s the Hamptons. No one in their right mind would wear jeans.”

Castle had a point, even if Beckett would never admit that to him. But she needed this. She needed the slight feeling of professionality these clothes gave her. She was starting to feel like a caged animal, ready to pace around her enclosure, waiting to pounce any unsuspecting victim. This routine kept her sane. Or so she told herself, anyway. 

So, she kept getting up at her usual time, spent her usual half hour drinking freshly brewed coffee and eating her usual mix of granola and fruit for breakfast before hitting the shower and then giving herself all the time she needed to decide on the days choice of clothing. 

After all that she would take her laptop, her books, and her notes outside to a nice place in the shade and only leave that place for a quick lunch break. In the evening, she would pack up her things and join Castle and Martha for dinner. And then, only after her day was truly done with, she would slip into her loose-hanging sweatpants and an old, beat-up tee to unwind.

But when summer break hit, this separation of leisure time and work time fell away. For the first few days, Beckett still struggled to maintain her routine. She would shimmy into jeans or select one of her nicer pairs of slacks before either joining Martha on the patio to read or take a walk around the grounds. 

It felt weird and wrong and uncomfortable. Beckett endured exactly four days.

It was well after noon when Castle came out of his office the first time in twenty-four hours. The previous day, he had had a flash of inspiration and had promptly locked himself up to write it out. Now, the creative juices were exhausted and so was he. 

His plan was to find Beckett and convince her with his roguishly handsome charm to come take a nap with him.

A glance out of the upper floor window told him that his wife wasn't in any of her usual spots outside and he made his way downstairs. To his surprise, he found her curled up on the couch, nose buried in a book, long legs sticking out of her pyjama shorts. Her hair was in a bun and she looked positively messy and incredibly comfortable. 

It was entirely too much for Castle’s tired brain. So, for quite a while, he just stood there, mesmerised by his beautiful wife.


	11. Day 10: Battle Royale

It had all started when Castle asked for a game of laser tag to combat the boredom. Beckett had declined since laser tag was his and Alexis’ game, not hers. So, Castle proposed nerf guns instead, not anticipating any consequences.

They ordered a small arsenal the same day.

When their Nerf Rival gear – they decided rounds were more fun than darts as they imagined the little balls would pack a little more of a punch – they were briefly disappointed. Despite Beckett being a more than excellent shot, barely one out of five balls would actually find its target. The additional punch they had hoped for was also lacking.

After less than half an hour of half-hearted trying to shoot each other from across the room, they gave up. 

“So… laser tag?” Castle asked as they sat side-by-side and rather disgruntled on the couch.  
Beckett sighed. “It still doesn’t feel right, babe.” She paused, contemplating something for a moment. Then she said, “What if we each take a couple of days – make a deadline out of it, an arms race if you will – and modify them. How hard can it be to soup these things up?”

They agreed on four days of prep time and an absolute ban on any espionage or questionings whatsoever. With Martha occupying the east wing of the estate, Beckett retreated to the west wing for total privacy for the time being. 

They had also agreed on leaving each other’s arriving packages unopened and had appointed Martha to take any deliveries. She had reluctantly agreed in an attempt at maintaining a sliver of peace in the house. 

Castle’s plan was to order everything he could think of from Home Depot the same night and take the car first thing in the morning to pick everything up, in hopes to get a lead on Beckett. When he, however, got up the following morning, his car was already gone. Of course it was the only car they had. It was late in the afternoon when Beckett finally came back home, acting all innocently and promptly retreating to her quarters with two giant shopping bags.

*

For the next days, the couple only saw each other in passing, consciously adopting two completely separate rhythms. 

At noon on the fourth day, Beckett zipped up her black vest, strapped on her clip belt, put her hair in a tight ponytail and pulled the black Phantom Corps mask over her face. She slung her modified rifle over her shoulders, strapped a gun to her thigh and grabbed a third souped-up nerf gun before heading over to the door of her temporary quarters-slash-workshop to listen for any noise out in the hall.

On the other side of the hall, Castle slipped into beige pants and a maroon shirt, pulled up his leather boots, slung a gun belt around his waist and slipped into his heavy brown coat. Alexis might have told him not to wear his space cowboy costume for Halloween anymore, but this was the perfect occasion to break it out again. He geared up, slinging a rifle over his shoulder, sliding a gun into the holster at his hip and clutching the McCree gun – he was most proud of how that one had turned out – tightly in his grip.  
“It’s high noon,” he whispered to himself before making his way to the door, listening for any noise out in the hall.

*

They managed to open their respective doors simultaneously. Beckett’s instincts immediately kicked in as she fired a couple of shots at Rick while running for the stairs, jumping onto the bannister, and skidding down towards the ground level.

“That’s two to zero,” Kate proclaimed from out of view, her voice shaking Castle out of his momentary stupor.

He bolted down the first flight of stairs, grinded to a halt right before potentially coming into Beckett’s view and carefully peaked around the corner. His skin tingled where the rounds had impacted. Becket had upped the velocity of her projectiles impressively. 

Slowly, back to the wall, Rick made his way to the living room. For a split second he saw a flash of brown hair vanish behind the couch. He jumped after, blindly firing. He might have been screaming. He didn’t remember. A shriek, however, told him that he must’ve landed a hit.

“One to two,” Castle yelled as he ducked behind a bookcase, trying to make his way to the kitchen, in search for better cover.

*

An hour later, panting but still moving through the house trying for new vantage points to attack from, they were so enveloped in their own little world that they did not notice Martha coming inside to grab something from the kitchen. 

All Beckett heard was shuffling in the kitchen and – as she was trained to do – she sneaked up to one of the doorways, merging with the shadows, silently like a panther on the prowl. 

Castle heard the noise, too. He grinned to himself triumphantly. Victory was to be his if he could only land two more hits on Beckett. So, carefully and quietly, he tiptoed over to the kitchen.

As coincidence would have it, they both swung around the doorframe at the same time, blindly firing into the room. There was a startled scream and the breaking of glass.

“What on earth are you two doing?!” Martha’s shrill outcry cut through the surprised silence that had followed the chaos.

Both Beckett and Castle looked like deer in headlights before simultaneously breaking out into stammered apologies. Martha just shook her head.

“I’m not cleaning this up,” she said and walked out without any further comments.

“Laser tag, next time?” Castle asked as he bent down to gather up the shards.  
“Yeah, next time we do laser tag,” Beckett said and went to get a broom.


	12. Day 11: Making Up and Other Delights

“Castle?” Beckett stood in front of the open cabinet, brows furrowed, staring at the lines of mugs he had put back onto the shelves just that morning.

“Yeah?” He stepped behind her, not quite touching her, and looked over her shoulder. She turned around and gave him one of her scrutinizing looks that made Castle feel as if he was being dissected.

“Didn’t I tell you that it’s more logical to put them upside down so the inside doesn’t gather dust?” She raised an eyebrow, dangerously challenging. He opened his mouth to say something, thought better of it and closed it again. 

For a moment he just looked into her eyes. The shade in the kitchen made them look darker than they were. Briefly, he saw a flash of something mischievous in them. But, then again, he might have been mistaken. 

“I guess I’m just used to put them away like that,” he finally said, settling on what he thought of as the safest answer. A shrug, a grin. “Force of habit.”

Her face fell a little. “I just wish you’d make a little more of an effort to listen to me sometimes, that’s all.” She sighed and crossed her arms in front of her chest, still looking up at him, almost accusingly now. 

“Beckett,” he began, halting briefly to search for the right words. “Kate. I guess, I just didn’t think about it at the time. I didn’t do it on purpose.”

“Oh, did you?” her tone was definitely accusatory now. “Just like you don’t load the dishwasher wrong on purpose? Or how you don’t leave your stuff lie around in the microwave on purpose?”

“Hey, what’s this about?” He looked at her alarmed. Something was off and he couldn’t tell why Beckett was suddenly acting like that. “I don’t do these things to annoy you, I promise. I really try to avoid doing those things.” He reached his hand out to her, but she side-stepped it and cast her gaze aside. A heavy sigh heaved her chest.

Castle took a step towards her, placing his hands gently on both her shoulders. They were tensed under his touch and he immediately began to rub little soothing circles on her skin with his thumbs. 

“I’m sorry I did something to upset you.” His voice was soft and cautious. He let his hands trail up to her neck, fingers slowly starting to play with the soft hair at the base of her nape. She relaxed a little into his touch. 

“What can I do to make it up to you?” Rick’s face was mere inches away from hers and he felt her soft breath caress his skin. She shrugged, still not quite looking at him. So, he leaned forward to kiss her cheek, chastely, nothing more than a peck. 

“Does that help?” He studied her face. A small smile was tucking at the corners of her mouth.  
“Hmm… Maybe?” Kate finally looked at him, her expression more teasing than disgruntled now. Castle leaned forward again, this time going in for an innocent kiss on her lips. When he pulled away, her smile was beaming up at him. He grinned in return.

“How about that?” Beckett bit her lip, her eyes now seizing him up almost hungrily.   
“Maybe if you tried one more time.” She cocked her head to the side, raising an eyebrow challengingly before his lips crashed into hers in a more forceful, passionate kiss. Before Kate quite knew it, Rick had lifted her up onto the counter. She automatically slung her legs around his torso, pulling him flush against her as her hands found his hair, lightly tugging, demanding more. His lips wandered down along her cheek and jawline to her neck, licking and nipping at a sensitive spot. Kate’s grip on Rick tightened with the sudden wave of heat rushing through her body.

“Bed. Now!” She breathed out demandingly. Rick’s response was to lift her off the counter and carry her up the stairs towards their bedroom.

*

Rick absentmindedly traced invisible patterns on Kate’s naked back. Her head rested on his chest - rising and falling with his every breath - and he could feel her smiling against him. Her blunt fingernails were lightly scratching against his skin as a faint promise of more teasing to come. 

A warm and satisfied languor had enveloped them as they lay naked and silent in each other’s arms. Outside, the waves were faintly lapping at the shore and birds were chirping. It was almost perfect. But something kept bugging Castle.

“Kate?” His voice was still low, still a little breathy.  
“Mhm?” She propped up her chin on the back of her hand to look at him.  
“That little fight from before…”  
“What about it?” A look of innocence painted her face. He was not buying it.  
“Did you just start it to get me into bed with you?”   
She shrugged slightly. “It worked, didn’t it?” The smile that lit up on her face was roguish and toothy. She winked at him, slowly moving up his body to kiss him.   
“You could have just asked, you know,” Castle said, a tint of mock-indignation in his voice.   
“What can I say,” Beckett kissed him again. “I may have missed our make up sex a little.”

Her laugh was cut off as he grabbed her by the hip and turned them around. He got a hold of her wrists, lightly pinning them against the mattress above her head.

“Well, Mrs Castle,” he growled, “I hope you plan on making this up to your poor husband.” 

Her answer was another passionate kiss.


	13. Day 12: The Persuasiveness of Good Sangria

As the days were getting longer and warmer, summer rushing in on them, so grew the prevailing boredom in the Castle-Beckett household. 

For the most part of their days, they had taken to lying around the pool, alternating between sunbathing, and letting themselves drift aimlessly in the water. At lest Castle did. Beckett, on the other hand, - in a constant competition with herself as usually – seemed to be determined to read through their entire library in those days. To Castle it felt as if she was making a point to read a new book at least every two days. Conversations with her husband, meanwhile, came up a little short and Castle was very much bothered by it. However, every time he tried to start up a conversation, she pointed to her book without looking up or even saying a word. 

So, Castle got to thinking on how to distract her and get her to grant him a little more of her attention. He missed her, that was all. Naturally, his plan involved alcohol, lots of it. That usually did the trick of getting her into a more talkative mood.

After years of experience, however, Rick knew that he had to be sly about it. If he let on too soon what he was trying to achieve he was bound to fail. And Beckett would then pay him even less attention. She could be like that and, honestly, Castle got it. So, the operation was a rather delicate one.

*

That day, like she had done for the past two weeks, Beckett had grabbed a deckchair after breakfast and stretched out at the poolside with a tome she had grabbed from the library. 

Her skin was already incredibly tan against the crème-coloured bikini she was wearing and, as per usual, Castle was stunned by the sheer beauty of his lovely wife. He smiled to himself at just how lucky he was as he took a moment to observe her through their bedroom’s window before making his way down to the kitchen to set his plan in motion.

Taking the mixology book Beckett had gotten him for the fifth anniversary of his purchasing of the Old Haunt. It had been more of a joke than anything else at the time, but occasionally it got handy. That day was one of those days. 

He flipped to the page with the sangria recipe and started his handiwork. He chopped up the fruit, sprinkled sugar and cinnamon evenly over everything and put the mixture into the fridge to macerate. While he was waiting for the fruit mixture to be ready to proceed, he prepared a little platter of cheeses, meats, and other antipasti and set out everything he needed if his plan of drawing Kate away from her book succeeded.

An hour later, Castle filled a jug with ice, mixed in the fruit, wine and brandy and topped everything off with sparkling water. He filled a tall glass with the liquid and went out the backdoor over to the pool where Beckett was lying, seemingly enthralled by her novel.

She barely acknowledged him at first, just smiling gently into the book until he put the glass down on the side table next to her and put his icy cold hands on her shoulder to lean down and plant a kiss on the top of her head. She briefly shivered at the icy touch.

“What’s this?” Kate briefly glanced at the vibrantly red liquid then up at her husband.  
“Just some sangria I just made. I thought you might enjoy some, too,” he said nonchalantly.   
“Are we day-drinking now?” Beckett raised an eyebrow at him, but she sounded amused.  
“It’s Sunday. Who cares if we’re day-drinking?” Castle grinned, lightly massaging Kate’s shoulders. She melted into his touch.   
“I mean, you put all this effort into it, how could I say no to this?” She put the book aside, reached for the glass and took a sip. Immediately she groaned in delight, taking another sip. “Oh, this is really good.”  
Castle smiled to himself, still rubbing his wife’s shoulders. His plan seemed to be working. 

“Will you join me for a while?” Kate asked, looking up at him, a lazy smile on her lips. She had no idea just how much that smile filled Rick with adoration. The love he felt for her was almost overwhelming.   
“Hmm… I could do that,” he said tentatively. “The other thing can wait a little longer for sure.”  
“What were you doing?”  
He shrugged a little. “Oh, I was just going through the mixology book you got me. I wanted to sample some of the cocktails today. It’s really nothing that can’t wait…” He let that last part trail off. An invitation. And Beckett bit.  
“Or… I could take a break from reading and be your guinea pig?” Kate bit her cheek and looked at him questioningly. 

He answered by holding out his hand to her, helping her up.  
“Just please don’t even consider changing into something,” he whispered in her ear before leading her to the kitchen, their fingers still intertwined. She just laughed.

*

“Can I enthuse the lady with something sweet and fruity for a start?” Castle leaned over the counter in a manner that was, in his head at least, seductive. Beckett, perched on one of the bar stools, legs crossed and very relaxed, laughed.  
“Sure, Castle. Now quit your jabber and get to work.”  
“Your wish is my command,” Castle said, winking at her before turning around to the ingredients he had previously lain out carefully. 

His first treat for Beckett was a blueberry mojito. His hand might have slipped a little when he added the rum and the cocktail packed quite the punch. 

“I think, I’m gonna prepare us a row of cocktails in advance and we take the tasting outside,” Castle said, two sips into his mojito. Beckett immediately volunteered to help. After all these years together, they were able to work around each other flawlessly. Slipping by, ducking under, side-stepping with a grace that made their work look like an elaborate dance. 

A lot of laughter and teasing and stealing garnish later, they had filled a tray with the snack platter and various cocktails. What they had not considered was that they should have adjust the quantities the mixology book suggested since their plan had been to only sample the drinks. 

But they also weren’t quitters. 

*

The sun was setting over the ocean and the shadows of the trees grew longer and longer. Castle and Beckett sat, legs intertwined, on the lounge by the pool, giggling drunkenly, deeply engrossed in conversation. 

On the little side table stood a dozen empty glasses and an empty platter. Their sampling had transformed into cocktail hour and cocktail hour had grown into cocktail afternoon. They didn’t care. 

As they drank their way through New York sours, gin iced teas, sex on the beachs, sidecars, cosmos and topped the whole thing off with Cuba libres, they had talked and talks – more than they had in days. 

Martha found them later into the evening, curled up on the lounge, fast asleep under the starlight. She didn’t wake them, though. Instead, she draped a thick blanket over the two of them and let them sleep it off. 

The next morning wasn’t going to treat them nicely.


	14. Day 13: In Which Castle Just Can't Resist Katherine Beckett

The sun filled the room, bathing the bed in its warm light. Beckett was slowly becoming aware of her surroundings as she lazily drifted out of her sleep. She stretched out her arm, brushing along Castle’s torso. The length of her body was flush against his side, one leg draped over his, her head was nestled on his shoulder. 

For a moment, she kept on stretching tentatively as not to wake Rick. She blinked her eyes open, giving them time to adjust to the bright sunlight. It was catching in her husband’s hair, giving it a reddish glow. For a while, she just studied his face. He looked relaxed, maybe a little younger than he actually was, slumber smoothing out the lines of age and life. After all these years waking up next to him, Kate was still fascinated how his roguish charm transferred into his sleep, too. She could almost see him smirk at her.

Kate smiled to herself as she slowly let her fingers wander along his bare chest, ear pressed to his heart, letting the monotonous, strong beats lull her in. 

That she had started moving against his body, she only realised when Rick started to shift a little, slowly coming to. He started to stretch a little, instinctively turning more towards Beckett. She leaned in to pepper his face with kisses as his arms snaked around her body, pulling her on top of him. 

“You’re eager this morning,” Castle murmured, voice still sleepy, eyes barely open, his grin lazy. 

Beckett adjusted her position slightly, placing her thighs on either side of his body, straddling him. That woke him up alright. His eyes opened wide, taking her in. 

Her hair was a wild mess, her shirt was askew and Castle thought she looked absolutely ravishing. Almost automatically Rick’s hands found Kate’s waist, lightly kneading the skin over her hip bones. A low moan escaped her lips as she leaned in for a proper kiss, long and deep, a promise of an intimate morning.

His hands wandered up her sides, pushing her shirt along with them. She righted herself just long enough for him to pull the garment up and over her head and toss it aside before diving in for another kiss. She slowly started to kiss a trail down his face to his neck, further down his torso and Rick could feel her smile against his naked skin.

*

Later that day, in the kitchen, Beckett was sashing the dishes of their very late breakfast. Her hair was up in a casual bun and she was clad in nothing but one of Castle’s shirts and a pair of shorts. Her bare feet tapped on the tile floor as she was gently swaying to the music that was playing. 

Castle was sitting at the counter, observing her fluid movements, enthralled by the effortlessness of her beauty once more. Her soft humming seemed to vibrate in his very core.

As if magically drawn to her, he felt a pull – an irresistible need to take her into his arms, to hold her close. Some days even the smallest distances between them felt like too much. Perhaps Castle had almost lost her one too many times and those memories had a way of sneaking up on him in the most unexpected moments. All he knew was that he needed to hold her, to feel that she was there right with him. 

He got up, crossed the distance between them, coming up right behind her. His arms wrapped around her waist and she immediately leaned into him. Her head fell back, coming to rest on his chest. A relaxed sigh fell from her lips. 

For a while they just stood there close to each other, breathing each other in, gently swaying to the music. Rick’s hand found its way into her shirt, fingertips caressing the soft skin of her abdomen, tracing the outlines of her prominent muscles. 

“Is this you asking for a round two, Rick?” Beckett asked with a deep laugh that betrayed her growing arousal. She lightly rolled her hips into his. The result was immediate as Castle spun her around, pinning her between the sink and his body. One hand grabbed her ass, the other tangled in her hair, pulling her in for a fast, passionate kiss. Without missing a beat, Kate brought her leg up, hooking her heel in the crook of his knee, pulling him even closer against herself.

*

The stars were already shining when they left their bed again. 

Round two had been followed by an extensive afternoon nap and naked cuddles which, in turn, had let to an unhurried, sloppy round three. It was as if they just couldn’t get enough of each other. As if something deep inside both of them was aching to be satisfied with as much physical contact as possible. As if they needed to feel that they had each other, that they were okay, that they were alive and not alone. 

Now, the two of them were standing out on the bedroom’s balcony with nothing but a light blanket loosely draped over them. Castle’s strong arms were wrapped around Beckett as the light breeze cooled their hot skin and filled their lungs with summer smells. 

They were silently looking out on the dark sea. The silvery moonlight was catching in the waves, matching the glittering and glimmering of the stars above. And the world seemed quiet. Peaceful. 

And for a while, they felt at ease.


	15. Day 14: Ghosts

It surely seemed like the start of a normal day in the Hamptons. Beckett and Castle had breakfast on the patio, taking their sweet time drinking their coffee, relaxing in the warm sun, listening to the waves crashing on the beach. Everything seemed to be as usual. 

Beckett volunteered to put their dirty dishes away and Castle – just too comfortable to move – didn’t object. 

In the kitchen, Beckett, however, stopped dead in her tracks, her skin suddenly crawling. The detective skills she had honed for years and years were screaming out all of a sudden. Something was off. 

A quick scan of the kitchen couldn’t put Beckett’s bad feelings at ease, though. Something was different, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was. Then she looked at the bowl of fruit on the counter. Hadn’t there been three apples moments before, not just one? Beckett furrowed her brow. Had Rick taken the apples? She couldn’t recall seeing him take them. Was she seeing ghosts? Had the isolation finally gotten to her? Was she just imagining it? She tried to shrug the eery feeling off as she walked back outside, but it wouldn’t quite let go of her. 

“Castle, did you have some apples today?” She asked when she sat down next to her husband again. He looked at her over the rim of his sunglasses, thinking only a second before answering no.

“Why’d you ask?” Castle wanted to know, sensing her uneasiness. He had followed her around long enough to know that something bothered her.   
“It’s probably nothing,” Beckett said, brows still knitted. “But I feel like there’s two apples missing from the kitchen and I can’t quite explain how they’ve vanished.”

“Maybe Mother took them?” Castle didn’t quite believe it himself. His mother wasn’t usually up at this hour and now that he was thinking about it, he was sure to have seen three apples in the bowl before he walked outside that morning. 

“Weird…” Beckett said, leaving it at that for the time being.

*

But things got progressively weirder throughout the day. Back inside, they found an empty cup that was definitely not theirs. A half-eaten piece of chocolate cake neither of them had bought was standing on the counter, seemingly mocking their sanity. 

A full search of the house, however, turned up empty and slowly but surely Beckett was convinced that she might have finally snapped and was going insane. She still decided to ignore Castle’s ghost theories, as per usual, hoping that a more material explanation would present itself in due time.

When her book had vanished from her bedside table and turned up outside by the pool next to a glass of fresh iced tea that both Martha and Castle swore, they had nothing to do with, Beckett did start to contemplate whether they were in fact being haunted. She scolded herself for indulging these thoughts immediately. 

Still, the ghost theory was further supported when both Castle and Beckett suddenly started hearing giggles and footsteps running around upstairs while Martha was sitting in their immediate field of vision.

*

This time, Beckett and Castle did not only search the entire house but extended their search to the tool shed and the surrounding shrubbery on the grounds and a little further down the beach. 

Nothing.

There was no one to be found and the anxiety that had been building in Beckett all day was growing steadily. She just couldn’t explain to herself what had happened. Then, a dark thought crossed her mind.

“Castle,” she hissed at her husband who was walking a few feet beside her as they were making their way back to the house.  
“Yeah?”  
“Is this your idea of fun?” Beckett glared at him. He looked at her uncomprehendingly.  
“What do you mean?” He looked innocently enough, but Beckett also knew that he could fake that well.  
“Are you playing a prank on me? Because if so, it’s really not funny.” He looked shocked if not even a little bit hurt.  
“Kate, I would never. You told me never to mess with your head like that and I promised that I wouldn’t. And I would never break a promise like that.”  
She sighed, slumping her shoulders a bit. “I know. I’m sorry, this whole thing just got to my head a little too much.”

She reached her hand out to him and he gladly took it. They crossed the last bit of distance to the house arm in arm, still none the wiser.

Back on the patio, Beckett heard the faintest splashing of water coming from the direction of the pool. She promptly called Castle’s attention to it, quietly motioning to him how to approach before stealthily making her way over to the pool area. When she peered around the corner, her jaw dropped.

“Alexis?! Hayley?!” Beckett exclaimed as she stepped out of the shadows of the gate.

The two women were lying on bright floaties in the middle of the pool, big sunglasses perched on their noses, even bigger drinks in hand. They were both grinning from ear to ear.

“Hi, Kate,” Hayley grinned. “We thought, we’d drop by to say hello. Maybe have some fun at it, too, while we were at it.”  
“Oh, and also to stay, of course. It must have been so boring up here, just the two of you and Gran,” Alexis added. Beckett could swear she saw a wink behind the tinted glasses.

So, that was the end of their peace and quiet as it seemed. The house was certainly filling up.


	16. Day 15: Castle's Time-Out

Summer progressed and the time of Beckett’s exams drew nearer. The days of idleness ere temporarily placed on hold again as Beckett was busy cramming and writing assignments. 

With the house a little more crowded now, Kate usually retreated to her bedroom balcony where she was just out of earshot of the others – at least most of the time – and the only sounds she heard were the ocean’s waves and the wind rustling through leaves. 

For almost two weeks that hiding spot persisted, mainly because Castle was busy writing anyways, his deadline fast approaching. Then, writer’s block hit him like a freight train and he grew restless.

“Hey, Beckett, why don’t you take a break and join me for a swim?” Castle was poking his head out of the balcony door.  
“Not now, Castle,” she answered, gesturing at the books spread out before her. “I’m a little busy.”  
He whined a little, she did her best to ignore him and eventually he trod off. Beckett directed her full attention back to the textbook before her.

*

It took Castle less than half an hour to come back and beg her to take a break again. Once more she shooed him away, telling him to leave her alone. Another half an hour later he was back on the balcony.

“Alexis and Hayley are heading down to the beach. Wanna come?” He was smiling expectantly at her.  
“Rick,” Beckett’s voice bore witness to her exasperation. “I’m studying and I will be studying for the rest of the day. Go and find someone else to play with you.”

That sufficed to keep him out of her hair for a while. She saw him follow his daughter and her girlfriend down to the sandy beach, shoulders slumped and sulking. 

The group wasn’t back at the house by lunch, so Beckett joined Martha for a light meal out in the sun. The easy chitchat with her mother-in-law was exactly the kind of relaxation for her taxed brain Kate needed and soon she felt refreshed enough to go back to her studies.

“Don’t let Richard step on your toes too much, Kathrine. He will understand in retrospect. He’s just been in a bit of a mood lately.” Martha took Becketts hand for a second and looked her in the eyes. “But don’t forget to have some fun and diversion once in a while. You can’t be all work and no play. Sometimes you have to let yourself enjoy something and take a break even when the work isn’t done just yet.”  
Martha squeezed her hand as Beckett stammered a thanks.  
“Oh, and kiddo? You got this.” Martha’s parting words of wisdom were accompanied by a small wink and Kate couldn’t help but smile. 

*

She was barely a page into her text when wet arms slung around her and a soaked Castle embraced her from behind, droplets of water landing all over her notes. Beckett shrieked and tried to wind herself out his grasp.

She pushed him aside. “Stop that, you ass!”  
She slapped him lightly on the chest, giggling a little in surprise. The wind was cold against her now drenched backside. Goosebumps rose along her arms and back and she shivered slightly. Castle seemed to have noticed and grinned at her.

“Oh my, Beckett, you’re all wet and cold now, better take a hot shower with me before you catch something!” He sighed dramatically, taking her hand and slowly beginning to pull her towards the open balcony doors.

Beckett shook her head and laughed. “You are unbelievable, Rick!”  
“Unbelievably irresistible,” Castle shot back, pulling Beckett further along with him, walking backwards towards their bathroom. He was convinced that she had finally caved.  
“Maybe,” she grinned - raising an eyebrow, looking at him seductively. 

Castle felt her posture shift a little to where it almost felt she was pushing him forward. He crossed the bathroom threshold. Suddenly, Beckett’s hand slipped out of his grasp and before he knew what was happening, she had pushed him into the room, slamming the door in his face.

It took him a second to notice that she had – in the split-second he was caught off guard – not only swiped his phone but had also taken the bathroom’s key. The latter he now heard being turned on the other side of the door and then being removed.

“Beckett! This isn’t funny!” He started hammering against the door. “Let me out!”  
“Relax, Castle. You’re only gonna be in there until I’m done for the day. Then I’ll come and get you. But you are officially in time-out now. Why don’t you use the time to think about the next chapter of your book?”

With that, Beckett laughed and walked away. She went to get her things from the balcony and made to find a quieter spot.

Down in the garden, Alexis had set out her books on a picnic blanket in the middle of the grass. Beckett went over to her.

“Mind if I join you?” Alexis immediately scooted over, patting the empty space next to her.  
“You got Dad out of the way, I am eternally grateful and owe you,” the redhead laughed and high-fived her. Beckett sat down, taking a moment to relish the almost perfect silence.

After a while, Castle exhausted himself and his calls died down, too, and the two women could finally study in peace.


	17. Day 16: Hazy Shades of Drunkenness

As the days and weeks advanced, certain habits started to form to keep spirits up. Alexis, for one, decided that she would make pizza from scratch every Wednesday for the entire family and they would all come together for a picnic-esque gathering on the lawn. Martha, on the other hand, had her fancy order-in dinners with strict evening attire dress code. Hayley found them something different to hone their friendly competition skills every week – be it a sandcastle building competition, a pie eating contest or some sharpshooter training with souped up nerf guns. 

Castle and Beckett had found joy in their Cocktail Sundays. They had the idea initially when Castle first took out his mixology book to get Beckett drunk and by now they were hellbent on trying out every single recipe. While Beckett had started off as relatively inexperienced in the art of mixology, she was a very quick study, as with almost everything, and soon surpassed Castle not only in knowledge but level of style.

The prospect of both alcohol and watching Beckett shoo Castle around the kitchen soon lured Alexis and Hayley in and Martha was accepting her invitation under the condition that Kate would make martinis for her instead.

Sundays, therefore, started off a little hectic with all the preparations going into the drinks of the day and then later turned into a relaxed sitting together by the pool, getting shit-faced. This Sunday was no different.

Beckett got them all started off with a cranberry sour and they gathered round the coffee table of the lounge for a few rounds of rummy. Hayley seemed to have a streak of luck that day – or was just really good at cheating – and won every round except for one. Castle soon had to bring out the micheladas to console everyone over Hayley’s gloating. She was banned from playing then and promptly started to try and help Alexis as much as rummy allowed for help. 

One old fashioned later, the group hat dispersed around the pool to take a nap or to sunbathe. 

Castle had deemed it to be a good idea to stretch out on a floatie. Of course, the gentle movements soon lulled him to sleep and Beckett cursed her irresponsible husband. She couldn’t just let him sleep in the middle of the pool unsupervised. So, she had to fight through her fuzzy alcohol haze and keep an eye on him while everyone else was napping.

Castle hadn’t planned on falling asleep, naturally. He was reckless, yes, but not that dumb. But the alcohol made it just too easy for him to close his eyes and drift off. His surprise when he suddenly jolted awake was accordingly. 

Beckett, from the side of the pool, could only watch as Rick turned in his sleep, rolling off the floatie right into the water.

Something cold and wet engulfed him all of a sudden and he let out an involuntary scream. Or he would have if it weren’t for the water immediately choking any sound. He started struggling, frantically trying to find his way up. The panic was beginning to set in until a firm grip on his shirt collar pulled him up towards the surface.

Beckett had dived right in after him without giving it a second thought. Luckily, the pool was neither very big nor very deep. At the point where Castle was flailing, the pool was shallow enough for Beckett to stand and pulling Rick out was by no means hard.

Back on the surface, Castle needed a moment to find his footing and to cough up some water.

“Thanks,” he wheezed, one hand gripping Kate’s arm for support.” I could’ve drowned! You saved me.”  
“Calm down, Castle,” Beckett laughed. “You’d have been fine.” Her hand nonetheless found the side of his face, pulling him down towards her for a sympathetic kiss.


	18. Day 17: The Adventure - Part 1

Autumn creeped up on them without anyone really noticing at first. The winds turned crisper and more biting. The days were getting shorter and soon the keen observer noticed the first leaves changing. 

Often, Beckett had to wear a jacket on her and Castle’s walks along the beach now and she grew quicker to make herself a cup of tea upon returning to the house to warm her icy hands. 

Still, the days were bright, the sun still shone warmly for now.

Nevertheless, with classes having started again and the isolation weighting down on her more and more, it was harder for Beckett to keep her spirits up. She was growing restless and, in her dreams, she incessantly felt haunted by an invisible entity. Ever so often she felt beaten down, almost depressed and for a while she was worrying that old wounds, old scars, would start to ache again.

This time, though, she didn’t hide it, didn’t try to figure it all out on her own. She had learned to reach out to the people who love her, to her family. It helped.

Castle started to check in with her emotional state much more. He held her closer at night, tried his best to surprise her daily with little thoughtful deeds, extended their walks on the beach and was generally more present. 

The rest of the family, too, felt their moods darken as summer was passing by and they made a collective effort to enrichen their daily lives. Alexis had gotten them into playing Dungeons & Dragons, something immersive for everyone – a little bit of welcome escapism. Martha got them to do silly little sketches and scenes from great plays together. Hayley got everyone into a workout routine. They tried their best.

But something was pulling on Beckett, nonetheless. Something deep and dark that had always been there, that had quieted down for a while thanks to Castle, hard work and a lot of support. Now it was back, amplified, and Beckett was unable to shake it. 

Castle noticed how persistent her restlessness was and he was worried for her. He remembered the last time she was like this – a trauma he himself had not quite processed completely – and he knew that he had to do something about it.

*

It was one of the days on which Beckett was sleeping in. Getting out of bed was hard for her these days.

Castle, on the other hand, was already up organising and preparing the last few things for his plan to work. With the help of the rest of the family, he packed a picnic basket of food and loaded up the car with everything they would need. He made one last phone call.

It was somewhat after ten o’clock when he went up to the bedroom. The curtains were still drawn, dimming the bright sunlight shining in through the windows. Beckett was buried under a heap of blankets, only some of her hair visible from where Castle stood in the doorframe. 

“Kate?” Castle stayed where he was, waiting for a response, giving her time to decide if she was up to interact with someone.   
“Yeah?” Her voice was small, a little tired.  
“Are you up for a little adventure?” Castle asked cautiously. “It involves a car ride to a different location and, before you ask, it is not the supermarket. It’s somewhere we haven’t been in more than a year.”

It got her attention. Tentatively, she climbed out of the bed, making her way over to where he was standing. At arm’s length, she stopped and looked up at him through her eyelashes.  
“What kind of adventure?” she inquired.   
“A surprise adventure.”  
She hesitated a little.  
“Do you trust me?” Castle asked, laying his hands on her biceps.   
“Always.”

*

Castle told Beckett to dress in something rustic that could get dirty and twenty minutes later they met down by the car. The prospect of a change of scenery had breathed fresh life into Beckett and she had almost a spring in her step again. 

On the road, the couple was mostly silent. Kate was busy looking out of the window at the landscape rushing by. Once in a while, Castle looked over to sneak a glance at his mesmerised wife who in turn looked absolutely awe-inspiring to him.

Half an hour into the drive, Castle pulled over on the side of the road and held out a piece of cloth to Beckett.

“I’d like you to put this blindfold on because I want to surprise you. You don’t have to if you’re not comfortable with it, though.” Kate paused for a second, thinking. Then she nodded and took the blindfold.  
“I trust you,” she said and then added, jokingly, “Remember, my safe word is ‘peaches’.”   
Then she tied the sliver of fabric over her eyes.


End file.
